Federal Regulators Optimistic California Farms Will Get More Water

Federal water regulators say the ample rain and snowfall in California this winter will likely let them boost water supplies for farms and cities higher than last year's amounts.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says agriculture contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for now will receive 45 percent of the water requested - the same as in 2010. Industry and cities south of the delta will get 75 percent of their requested amount.

But if the wet weather continues those figures likely will jump up next month, when the agency announces its official water delivery plans.

The bureau and the state run the pumps that send water to more than 25 million Californians and the farms that produce much of the nation's fruits and vegetables.